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Wednesday, 11 September 2013

Review: The Sound - Sarah Alderson

He is out there, holding his breath as I hold mine. Ears pricked, eyes scouring the darkness. I can sense him there waiting, just a few feet away . . .

When aspiring music journalist Ren Kingston takes a job nannying fora wealthy family on the exclusive island of Nantucket, playground for Boston's elite, she's hoping for a low-key summer reading books and blogging about bands. Boys are firmly off the agenda.

What she doesn't count on is falling in with a bunch of party-loving private school kids who are hiding some dark secrets; falling (possibly) in love with the local bad boy; and falling out with a dangerous serial killer . . .

Review:
I'm a huge fan of Sarah Alderson's writing style and particularly loved her action packed (and totally swoon worthy!) Lila series so when I found out she was writing a stand alone thriller / romance set on Nantucket it went straight to the top of my wish list. Once again she has hit the ball out of the park and created a story that will have you hooked from the very first page and reading from the edge of your seat.

After a nasty split from her ex Ren is looking forward to getting away for the summer and a job nannying in Nantuket is the perfect way for her to get out of England. She has dreams of becoming a music journalist so she plans to spend her time off listening to music and working on her music blog, considering how her last relationship ended the last thing she wants is a summer fling. That may change when she catches the eye of not just one but two very sexy boys though. First there is Jeremy, the son of a wealthy family that are friends with the people she is working for, he invites her to hang out with him and his friends and gives her the opportunity to see more of the Island. Then there is Jesse, the local bad boy who everyone keeps warning her away from but won't tell her the reason why, he shares her passion for music and she can't help feeling drawn to him even though she knows she should keep her distance. As if juggling the attentions of two very different boys wasn't enough she also has to try and avoid catching the attention of a serial killer, one who seems to be targeting foreign nannies who are working on the island. What if she becomes the next target?

I've already mentioned how much I love Sarah Alderson's writing style and that was no different in The Sound. I thought Ren was a fabulous character and I loved seeing a British character in an American setting and how uncomfortable she was surrounded by the wealth of the families she came into contact with. She was obviously completely out of her comfort zone and didn't know quite what to make of the rich kids and their attitudes to the locals. I appreciated the fact that she didn't immediately fit in and her clumsiness was highly amusing to watch. She does make mistakes and I was irritated by the way she was drawn to both Jeremy and Jesse but to be honest I think most of us would be flattered by the attention of two hot boys and would find it hard to make a choice between them.

I took an instant dislike to the majority of Jeremy's friends, it was obvious that most of them looked down on Ren and weren't happy to have them as part of their group. I have to say I wasn't a fan of Jeremy either, he came across as far too smarmy and I always worried that he had some kind of ulterior motive. My favourite character would have to be Jesse, I wasn't so sure about him at first because he has quite an attitude problem when Ren first meets him but as you get to know him and learn the reason why he really grew on me. I didn't always agree with Jesse's actions but when you find out exactly what happened I could understand why he did what he did and I think in his situation I'd probably have had a very similar reaction. He is incredibly protective of his family and you can't fault him for that.

I'll admit that there were some things I figured out well before Ren did but there were still a few surprising twists that I hadn't expected. I loved watching her figure out exactly what was happening and the fact that she was brave enough to confront the person she thought was behind the attacks. There is a fine line between bravery and stupidity but it's one I don't think she crossed - particularly considering she took backup with her. The Sound is another great story from Sarah Alderson and one I'm sure fans of her Lila series will love. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

Source: Received from Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review

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